This invention is directed to golf clubs and particularly to the type of golf clubs commonly referred to as drivers or woods, that is, clubs with enlarged heads that drive or propel golf balls positioned on tees. Such clubs are frequently used in practice at driving ranges or other locations where a golfer practices his/her swing and driving techniques by placing multiple balls beside a practice tee and progressively hitting those balls. This procedure often, however, requires the golfer to bend over between swings to tee up another ball, and such action requires the golfer to regrip the golf club between swings. Obviously, regripping the golf club between swings is part of the actual golf game but in practice sessions, it is often desirable to maintain a consistent grip such that slight alternations of the grip may be made to determine the affect on the ball's trajectory, etc. Numerous machines and or devices have been developed to automatically or on call tee up balls to enable the golfer to maintain his/her grip on the golf club between swings. However, such devices require an electrical power source and thus are utilized mostly in a formal setting and are generally costly.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide golfers with a practice driver that will enable the golfer to pick up and place golf balls on a tee without releasing one's golf club grip and/or without the tiresome need for bending or stooping to set the ball upon the tee. A further desirable feature would be to provide such above features entirely within the golf dub head of the practice driver itself to eliminate the need for extra accessories or attachments and without requiring a power source other than that of the golfer.
These and other objects of the invention are provided by a golf club comprising a shaft in turn connected to a driving head, said head having front, side and bottom portions and including a generally planar ball contact face at the front portion thereof, said side portions including a curved upright wall extending rearwardly from said contact face and said bottom portion defined by a bottom wall such that the inside surfaces of said front, side and bottom portions define a hollow compartment within said driving head, said bottom wail including an opening of a diameter slightly larger than a golf ball forming the entrance to said compartment for such ball, said compartment including a ball supporting rest surface extending from the rear periphery of said opening towards the rear of said curved upright wall, said compartment further including a laterally extending bumper bar positioned rearwardly of said front wall inside surface and aligned above the forward periphery of said opening such that relative movement between said head and a golf ball positioned on a supporting surface and aligned with said opening causes the ball to contact said bumper bar as the golf ball moves into said compartment and be forced rearwardly into said ball supporting rest surface whereupon the ball and club can thence be moved as a unit and the ball then repositioned as upon a driving tee by tilting the head such that the ball rolls off the supporting rest surface and downwardly through said opening.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.